My Legal Daily Journal

One good example of this can be found in national news reports from 1994. In Jennifer Ireland vs. Steven J. Smith, the father had won a custody decision in a case where the mother would be moving the child away from the father, in order to attend the University of Michigan. The child would be spending significant daily hours in daycare as the mother attended classes and school functions.

Due to the limit of access to his child, as well as the amount of time the child would be in daycare, the father filed for custody. He felt that because he still lived with his parents, while working a full time job, the paternal grandmother could care for the child. This was not the only evidence brought before the court that led to the decision, however it was the primary reason given by Judge Raymond R. Cashen of Macomb County Circuit Court. He chose not to mention the other evidence as it would harm the mother's reputation as the case was receiving significant media attention.

Post Ruling
After the decision was issue, Jennifer Ireland claimed that Steven had abused her eight months prior in November of 1993, and thus should not be allowed to take custody. An injunction was placed on the transfer of custody, and the father was arrested for domestic violence.

The hearing took place in October of 1994, and due to the father having no means provide sufficient evidence in his defense, it appeared he would be found guilty. In addition to the mother's allegations, she had two female friends to testify for the prosecution. However, it turned out their testimony cleared Steven Smith.

Upon cross-examination, the defense attorney read from the Michigan Statute on the penalties for committing perjury while under oath. Upon hearing this, each girl turned white and decided that the truth was more appropriate. They each testified Jennifer Ireland had pressured them into testifying that Steven Smith had abused Jennifer, when in reality, Jennifer had attacked Steven, while holding the baby. The only thing Steven did was grab her arms to prevent her from scratching him.

After the jury came back with a decision of not guilty, the President of the Michigan Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and the prosecuting attorney, held a news conference saying this was a clear example of how abused women cannot get a fair hearing in court.

In October of 1998, in a Jackson County (MO) Court Room, a restraining order was heard regarding Steven King, a father who had filed for custody of his daughter. The mother claimed that the previous June the father had shot out her car windows. She further claimed that afterward he had called her to brag about it. To back up her story, she had a police report from the night in question showing that the car windows had been shot out. Nowhere in the report did she claim that the child's father had done it.

To the benefit of the father, he had been keeping of a Daily Journal. The journal showed that on the night in question, he was 40 miles away, in Lenexa (KS), where he lived. He was helping his neighbor, and some firefighters, pull large branches from the roof of the house during a severe rainstorm. The neighbor's wife was in the basement at the time, doing laundry, and the branches had wedged against the door at the top of the stairs. She was otherwise unhurt. The Journal listed the names of those who were there, which could than provide statements to the fact.

Without the journal, she would have been granted the straining order.

These cases are very similar to what happen in June of 2010 to Mel Gibson. He was not accused of domestic violence until after he filed for custody.

Oksana Grigorieva claimed he had abused her a few months previous. She did not make the allegations on the night of the event, or make a police report of domestic violence, she waited until he had filed to make it.

At the time, had she told the doctors that the reason she had chipped her tooth was that Mel Gibson had hit her, than they would have been obligated to report it, and Gibson would have been immediately arrested. This tactic is very common as it limit's the father from being able to defend himself successfully.

One of the most important keys to success in a family law matter is a Daily Journal. Daily Journals can be admissible as evidence in a court of law; however, their most important function is to refresh ones memory of events that happened on particular day or days.

With the Daily Journal, a person giving sworn testimony can more accurately describe the events of a particular day. There are number of steps in keeping a proper Daily Journal, the most important of which is remembering to make the actual entries at the end of the day.

Aside from addressing an allegation of abuse, other uses would be in preparing for Custody Challenge, or proving Denial of Access (visitation) Rights. Unless there is an immediate safety concern, a person should take a few months to prepare for a challenge for Joint Physical, or Primary Residential, Custody. The primary failure of fathers getting equal consideration in child custody is not bias, but the lack of preparation, and hiring the right attorney.

The problem with keeping a Daily Journal is the monotony of writing it in every day, or maintaining it on one's personal computer. Further, there is the possibility of being accused of having gone back and made changes to the journal, to cover up an event.

What is needed is an simpler means to keep maintain a Daily Journal, which is secure and can be certified as accurate and true at the time of the entry, meaning that later the entry cannot be altered. Toward this end, what is needed is an online version, a Legal Daily Journal website that has two levels of security, and can be certified by the American Bar Association, Family Law Section.

Currently, there is nothing in use, either online, or as a software package, that matches the requirements necessary.

Primary Use
Journal entries would be made and once saved, could not be altered. Additions can be made to the entry up to 24 hours later. The same would apply to adding photos and/or video.

By getting the site certified as being accurate and unchanged, printouts from it could be entered directly as evidence in a Court of Law. Printouts would come with a randomized water stain, which would prevent copies being made, and altered. Each person needing a copy would require a fresh print out. Further, there would be an option, at an additional cost, to receive a CD of the data, with anti-copy formatting.

Further Use
An additional use of the site would be in creating a Chronological Statement, for when a person is seeking to hire an attorney. A Chronological Statement can save a person hundreds of dollars in chargeable hours answering attorney questions about the history of the relationship, and the issues to be addressed.

Estimated Fees
This would be a membership site, with fees of around $20 to $40 a year. I do not want to place an undue financial burden on those using it.  The amount of years necessary for it to be used would depend how many underage children are involved in the case. It could run from a couple of years, to a few decades.

There are over 40 million divorced and single fathers, within just the US, who could be potential customers. However, it need not be limited to just one country. The Journal can be used in every civilized country, so versions will be needed in other languages as the site grows.

Viewing of the entries will be restricted to the poster, the poster's attorney, and/or a representative of the court assigned the case. As stated before, printouts will include a watermark so that the pages cannot be copied and/or altered.

Not A Social Network
There need not be all the extras found on site such as LiveJournal.com, as this would not be a Social Networking Site. It is strictly for legal purposes, until the kids are grown. An agreement could be made with LiveJournal for the material to be transferred to their site, for more open viewing of the content, once all the children have aged out.

To ease the ability for making regular entries, it would be best to have a Phone App so that entries could be made on the run, perhaps even using voice to text.

This is my personal and exclusive idea for addressing a problem, not only as regards the rights of fathers, but also in educating all parents how to be better prepared in working as a team with a legal representative.

I have spent over 22 years teaching fathers how to maintain Daily Journals for Family Law cases. As such, I have the contacts within the Fathers Rights Movement to promote the site, as well as legal contacts to refine it. Note that advertising related to the legal fields could still be included.

I have been living in a nursing home since 2008 due to injuries resulting from a robbery. I have neither the financing, nor the knowledge in website development, to do this myself. I would not desire to have primary control, but I would desire to have a significant block of the ownership to allow me to remain an active part in its development and operation.

George R. McCasland